David
Henry Hickman High SchoolDavid
Henry Hickman, "Kewpie of the Month for November 2005"Kewpie
of All Time

David Henry
Hickman was born November 11, 1821,died June
25, 1869, at age 47 and is buriedin Columbia
Cemetery.More than
50 years after his death,the Columbia
Board of Educationvoted to
name a new school after him,David H.
Hickman High School.Brian W.
Kratzer photos

See the
orginal
story courtesy of "The Columbia Daily Tribune"and written
byHarold Lynch,
a Kewpie of the Class of 1947

Hickman
family took root in county with move to Missouri in early 1800s

Researched
and compiled by HAROLD LYNCH First of four parts

Published
Sunday, January 2, 2005

The end of
the War of 1812 with Great Britain and the signing of the peace treaty
with 19 American Indian tribes in 1815 at Portage des Sioux near St. Louis
drove a rush for settlement in the Missouri Territory.

Lt. Col. Benjamin
Cooper and his group of pioneers had blazed a trail in 1808 and 1810 to
the Boone’s Lick area of Howard County. Immigrants from Kentucky followed
them, traveling the trail from St. Charles County to Howard County.

The years
of 1816, 1817 and 1818 saw a large increase in population in the Missouri
Territory. An estimated 30 percent of the immigrants were from Madison
County, Ky., and almost 60 percent came from a group of 15 counties in
central Kentucky. Among the early pioneers from Kentucky was David M. Hickman,
who first visited this area in 1817. After making his appraisal for future
settlement, he returned to Bourbon County, Ky.

On April 27,
1818, he married Eliza Johnston, daughter of William and Rachel Johnston,
also of Bourbon County.

The population
of 3,692 was sufficient to organize Boone County on Nov. 16, 1820. The
act vesting Boone with all the privileges and immunities of a county became
effective Jan. 1, 1821.

The first
territorial legislature appointed John Gray, Absalom Hicks, Lawrence Bass,
David Jackson and Jefferson Fuleher as commissioners to determine the permanent
seat of justice for the new county. They were authorized to receive donations
of land or, if necessary, pay up to $10 per acre. The town of Smithton,
which was temporarily being used as the county seat, was rejected as the
permanent administrative center because of its lack of an adequate supply
of water. The commissioners took the Smithton town plan and moved it about
a half-mile east. The site, named Columbia, was adopted as the Boone County
seat on April 7, 1821.

Even though
the county commissioners had been prepared to pay for land required for
the county seat, the Smithton Co. trustees donated 50 acres of land in
town lots, two public squares, $2,000 in cash notes and two wells of constantly
flowing water.

The company
gave the county court 10 acres in town lots, the sale proceeds of which
were to be used for bridges over the Moniteau, Roche Perche, Hinkson and
Cedar creeks on the St. Charles to Franklin road. It also donated 10 acres
adjoining Columbia on the southwest, on condition that the state university
be established there.

Probably in
late summer 1822, Hickman returned to what is now Boone County.

His father-in-law,
William Johnston, and other relatives and slaves made the journey with
him from Bourbon County.

Hickman would
contribute to early education in Boone County, and his son, David H. Hickman,
would make a significant impact on community development and education
as a businessman and legislator. Hickman High School, which opened in 1927,
was built on remnants of his estate in north Columbia.

The elder
Hickman purchased his first 80 acres of land on Oct. 21, 1822. At the same
time, Johnston purchased 160 acres. On Dec. 18, 1822, Hickman purchased
another 80 acres. All the land is located about six miles south of Columbia.

No one knows
whether they remained for the winter or returned to Bourbon County. Sometime
during the next year, however, they apparently moved their families and
possessions to Boone County.

By now, David
and Eliza Hickman had two sons, William T., born Sept. 2, 1819, and David
Henry, born Nov. 11, 1821. David Hickman continued to purchase parcels
of land and built his plantation. His family also grew in 1824 with a third
son, James Hickman.

Three years
later, tragedy struck the Hickman household when Eliza died on June 14,
1827, leaving a husband and three young sons, many relatives, and friends
to mourn her death at age 24.

After some
20 months, Hickman married Cornelia Bryan on Feb. 12, 1829. She was the
daughter of former Kentuckians Morgan and Sarah Bryan of Boone County.

Hickman and
some of his neighbors in the southern Two Mile Prairie area became concerned
for the education of their young sons. In 1829, they organized the Bonne
Femme Academy on the north bank of Bonne Femme Creek, about six miles south
of Columbia. It was an academy for male students and first opened on the
third Monday of May 1829, with Warren Woodson as teacher. Hickman was one
of the trustees.

During the
decade of the 1820s, immigrants continued to flow into Boone County, and
by 1830, the population had more than doubled to 8,859. David and Cornelia
added four sons and one daughter to their family. One son died 12 days
short of his first birthday.

Hickman continued
his interest in the development of Boone County and in the establishment
of a state university in Columbia. That might have motivated him to seek
election to the Missouri General Assembly, where he represented Boone County
for two terms, from 1838 to 1842. During his tenure, the University of
Missouri at Columbia was organized and began operation.

No doubt David
H. Hickman took advantage of the teaching available at the Bonne Femme
Academy and Columbia College, which opened Nov. 3, 1834, and was the predecessor
of the University of Missouri.

The younger
Hickman confirmed his Baptist religious commitment in August 1839 at age
18 when he joined Little Bonne Femme Church in southern Boone County. In
the U.S. census of 1850, he is listed as age 28 and single, which was somewhat
unusual for that time.

In the late
1840s, reports of the discovery of gold in California caught the attention
of many Central Missourians, and about 140 Boone Countians headed west
from Columbia in April 1849. They took the northern route to the gold fields
by way of St. Joseph, the Platte River, Fort Laramie, the South Pass at
the Rocky Mountains, Fort Hall on the Snake River, the Humbolt River and
the Carson River. The distance from St. Joseph was about 2,000 miles.

Despite the
irregular and makeshift postal service to and from California, a number
of letters got back to Columbia, and many of them were printed in the Missouri
Statesman newspaper. From them, it is possible to follow the progress of
this first group en route to California and the group members’ quest for
gold.

The reports
caught David H. Hickman’s enterprising spirit, and in the spring of 1850,
he brought together teams of oxen and mules with wagons loaded with materials
and laborers. They set out for a location on the North Platte River about
130 miles west of Fort Laramie.

Hickman, whose
father and mother were among the early settlers present at the birth of
Boone County, was an entrepreneur, statesman and legislator who was particularly
interested in education. His name graces, among other things, Hickman High
School.

In an April
20, 1850, letter to the Missouri Statesman written at Fort Kearney, about
200 miles from St. Joseph and about 450 miles from his destination on the
Platte River, Hickman reported that the weather was cold and feed for the
livestock was nearly exhausted. There was no danger from the American Indians
except their stealing or driving off the stock. Some bison had been killed
and brought into the camp. The party had high hopes of making the trip
in safety.

After arriving
at the location Hickman thought was most practical for crossing over to
the south side, the party began building ferryboats and rafts.

A June 11,
1850, letter to William Switzler at the Missouri Statesman from Hiram Buff
said: "We have just crossed at Hickman’s Ferry. They are running four boats
and when hurried can cross 500 teams per day. At an average of $7.50 per
team."

Another letter
to Switzler, written at Hickman’s Ferry and dated June 25, 1850, said:
"I have not time to write more, but must say a word about the ferry. Messer’s.
Hickman and Company have three good flatboats, which carry two wagons at
a time each and make the trip in six to ten minutes. Ropes are stretched
from bank to bank. The boats working on pullies are driven over by the
force of the current. They crossed about four thousand-six hundred wagons
here this spring. Signed, yours truly, R.R.P."

An account
of Hickman’s ferry company returning to Columbia appeared in the Aug. 16,
1850, issue of the Missouri Statesman. It said: "The Ferry Company of D.H.
Hickman reached home in good health on Sunday last" - Aug. 11, 1850. "Their
location on the Platte River was about 130 miles west of Fort Laramie and
730 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri. They left the ferry location for home
on the 8th of July. Previous to their leaving the great body of the emigration
had passed. Yet on their homeward trip, they met about 500 wagons before
reaching Fort Laramie and nearly 600 more between the later place and Fort
Kearney. Of this number about 700 were Mormons en route for the Great Salt
Lake.

"According
to the register of the Commanding Officer at Fort Laramie, the number of
wagons that had passed that post, before the Ferry Company left, was about
10,300. The number of emigrants, of at least 50,000."

After his
success with the ferry company, Hickman could pursue his interests in business
development, educational expansion and politics.

Hickman’s
father, David M. Hickman, died June 14, 1851, and the younger David Hickman
seemed to follow his father’s interests. Apparently, he replaced the elder
Hickman in the management of the Bonne Femme Academy, as seen by the advertisement
on Oct. 24, 1851, seeking new students: "Primary department tuition $7.50
per session of 5 months, and High School $10 per person. Apply to David
H. Hickman, Theoderick Jenkins or Austin Bradford living near the academy."

On March 27,
1852, Hickman attended a meeting of the Whigs of Cedar Township at Bass’s
Mill in Boone County. There the group approved the recommendation of the
Feb. 17 Whig meeting in Columbia to divide the county into two townships.
A portion of the Whigs in Cedar Township, the Southern District, met at
Rock Bridge Mills on April 24, 1852, and nominated Hickman to represent
Boone County in the next General Assembly. Then, at the May meeting of
Boone County Whigs, Chairman Maj. James Rollins asked the candidates to
address the people. James Gordon, Stewart Hatten and David Hickman spoke.
Gordon and Hickman favored organizing the proposed new county of Bourbon
out of portions of Boone and other counties.

Even though
the proposal did not materialize, the Boone County Court during its June
1854 term ordered the creation of Bourbon Township out of parts of Perche
and Rocky Fork townships. The place for holding elections was to be the
town of Bourbonton, whose name was later changed to Sturgeon. Hickman,
no doubt, suggested the name Bourbon in honor of his birthplace of Bourbon
County, Ky.

On Aug. 2,
1852, voters elected Gordon, Hickman and Stephen Wilhite as representatives
from Boone County to the Missouri legislature for the term of 1852 to 1854.
During Hickman’s term in the seventeenth General Assembly, he expressed
his concern about the lack of financial support for public education. In
1853, he co-wrote legislation that required 25 percent of the state’s revenue
to be appropriated for the common schools of Missouri, and the General
Assembly approved it.

Even though
he was active in the legislative process for two years, Hickman maintained
his business, political, educational and agricultural interests in Boone
County.

At a meeting
of the Boone County Agricultural Society on May 7, 1853, he was elected
a director. Then on Oct. 7, 1853, Hickman was appointed acting county surveyor
in the absence of James Harris. He previously had served as deputy surveyor
for Boone County in 1845 during William Shields’ absence.

The Boone
County Agricultural and Mechanical Association elected Hickman vice president
at its annual meeting on April 14, 1855.

At 34 and
still single, Hickman was becoming more and more involved in the community’s
promotion and development.

Enthusiastic
about good agriculture, he recognized the benefits of quality livestock.
This might have encouraged him to invest in the Central Missouri Stock
Importing Co., which held a meeting March 3, 1856, at the City Hotel in
Columbia. After election of the board of directors, Hickman was appointed
the company’s secretary.

The closing
of the Columbia Female Academy in 1855 after two decades of operation created
a void and a concern for re-establishing a women’s college in Columbia.
Within a few months, Hickman and a group of residents who were members
of the Baptist church circulated a subscription list, and they proposed
articles of incorporation on March 15, 1856. The institution was to be
a joint stock company. Each person who subscribed $100 would get one share
of stock and one vote.

At an initial
meeting of the stockholders on May 26, 1856, Eli Bass, David Hickman, James
Harris, Richard Branham, William Hickman, Moss Prewitt and Warren Woodson
were elected curators. The curators then elected David Hickman president,
Woodson secretary and Prewitt treasurer. Hickman and Woodson were to draft
bylaws. To Hickman, Branham and Woodson were assigned the responsibilities
of locating an executive officer for the Columbia Baptist Female College.
The committee reported to the Board of Curators on June 16, 1856, that
Professor William Rothwell, manager of the Elm Ridge Academy in Howard
County, had been selected as president and would begin his duties at the
opening of the college the first Monday of September 1856.

From the beginning,
there were some administrative difficulties, and the board authorized Hickman,
its president, to take charge of the college and employ a staff of teachers.
The college opened for its first semester as planned with 70 students.
The Missouri legislature approved the college’s charter Jan. 17, 1857.
As president of the board, Hickman continued to guide the college’s success.

During Columbia’s
first decades, residents enjoyed considerable prosperity and a wide range
of business activities. An extensive network of private credit arrangements
and a good deal of primitive bartering took the place of modern banking.

Columbia's
Hickman High School is named after David H. Hickman, whose parents were
among the early settlers of Boone County. Hickman was a well-known businessman,
legislator and advocate of education in the mid-19th century.

By the 1840s,
though, businesses in Columbia operated on a cash basis. This development
created the need for banks to provide the cash necessary for the new style
of merchandising.Moss Prewitt,
a successful merchant, and his son-in-law James Parker opened an exchange
and banking house in Columbia in early 1856. Nine months later, in January
1857, the Missouri Statesman mentioned that "among the many institutions
which we have in our midst, none are of more permanent value and usefulness
than the exchange and banking establishment of Messer’s Prewitt and Parker.
Their house presents a safe and reliable medium of deposit, combining the
advantages of exchange with that of a saving institution."

In May 1858,
Parker left the banking business and joined David H. Hickman in forming
a freight company to haul government stores from Fort Leavenworth to Utah
in preparation for an expected war with the Mormons over polygamy. Both
Hickman and Parker suffered from pulmonary complications. They hoped to
combine business profits with improved health caused by physical work and
outdoor living.

Hickman was
a well-known businessman and entrepreneur, a former legislator and a great
advocate of education. He became involved in an astonishing array of business
ventures and civic activities in mid-19th-century Columbia. Hickman High
School was later named to honor him.

After Parker
left the bank to work with Hickman, another of Prewitt’s sons-in-law, Robert
Beverly Price, came into the business.

On Feb. 7,
1859, the Exchange Bank of St. Louis opened books at the Prewitt and Price
private bank to issue capital stock for a new Columbia branch, and $60,000
was promptly pledged. The same day, stockholders elected five directors:
Eli Bass, David Hickman, J.F. Baker, Jonathan Kirkbride and John Rollins.

In January
1860, Hickman was elected by the joint session of the Missouri General
Assembly to the University of Missouri Board of Curators with three others
from Boone County: Bass, William Duncan and Robert Todd. At its first meeting,
on March 15, 1860, the board elected William Allen president and Todd secretary.
Not satisfied with an organizational proposal, Hickman moved that the university
be reorganized with a faculty of five regular professors for English, language
and literature; mathematics; natural sciences and natural philosophy; Latin
and Greek languages; and moral and intellectual philosophy or political
science. The board president was to select one of the faculty members.
Also, a principal was to be appointed for a primary department. The plan
was adopted unanimously.

After maintaining
his bachelor status for so many years, Hickman finally married Anne Bryan
in St. Joseph on Sept. 15, 1861. Bryan was a niece of Hickman’s stepmother
and the daughter of Milton and Zerilda Moss Bryan, formerly of Boone County.

The outbreak
of the Civil War divided border state Missouri and Boone County, which
was known as part of Little Dixie. Late in the 1850s, with the breakup
of the Whig Party, Hickman, like many other Boone County residents, joined
the Democratic Party.

The second
session of the Missouri Convention, in July 1861, dissolved Gov. Claiborne
Fox Jackson’s popularly elected secessionist government, established a
new pro-union state government and named Hamilton Gamble as governor. Both
the state government and the Western Department of the U.S. Army in St.
Louis issued orders to tighten control over Missouri.

On Oct. 16,
1861, the state convention enacted an ordinance requiring anyone holding
civil office to take an "oath of allegiance" within 60 days. Anyone who
failed to take the loyalty oath would be removed from office.

The order
included members of the university’s Board of Curators. In January 1862,
Gamble appointed F.T. Russell, M.R. Arnold and Odon Guitar to the board
to replace Hickman, Bass and Duncan, who either refused to take the oath
or simply resigned.

As if the
sadness and anxiety created by the Civil War were not enough, on Nov. 10,
1863, David and Annie Hickman’s only child, Sallie, died at the age of
16 months.

During the
war years, advances that led to profound changes by Columbia institutions
were made in banking laws. Even though the local branch of the Exchange
Bank of St. Louis was prosperous and sound, on July 27, 1863, its stockholders
put it in liquidation. On the same day, a major portion of the stockholders
organized the First National Bank of Columbia, with capital of $50,000
and plans for increasing it to $200,000. The board of directors of the
new bank consisted of Hickman, Prewitt, Jonathan Kirkbride, James Harris,
Bass, John Machir and James Waugh. Hickman was elected president, and Price
was elected cashier.

First National
Bank of Columbia was the original nationally chartered bank in Missouri
and thus avoided the risks of mutual exploitation involved in the parent
branch arrangement.

In February
1864, the General Assembly adopted legislation allowing savings associations
in county seats to encourage local exchanges that could pay interest on
savings and make loans. The legislation provided a security advantage to
bankers during a significantly lawless period.

The horrors
of war were closing in on Central Missouri. On July 15, 1864, Bloody Bill
Anderson’s guerrilla gang raided Huntsville and robbed five merchants of
$30,000, and the Randolph County treasury was rifled of $18,000. On Sept.
27, Anderson’s guerrillas perpetrated the massacre at Centralia. In Columbia,
merchants and bankers wondered whether they would be next.

On Sept. 30,
cashier Price published a notice that the First National Bank of Columbia
was closing. Creditors were asked to present their claims for payment.

Then, on Nov.
10, 1864, Hickman, Price, James Harris, Prewitt and Archibald Young organized
the Boone County Savings Association, with capital stock of $10,300, divided
into shares of $100 each. Hickman was elected president and Price cashier.

Savings associations
were not required to keep large cash reserves or to publish financial reports.

*****

Beginning in
1836, there had been considerable interest in connecting Columbia with
some railroad system, and several attempts failed. Finally, in 1857, Hickman
pulled together a number of prominent Boone County residents and organized
the Boone County and Jefferson City Railroad Co. Its first mission was
to build a railroad from Columbia to Centralia and connect with the North
Missouri Railroad. But the Civil War intervened, and construction was postponed.

With the end
of the war, plans for the railroad moved forward. At a meeting on Dec.
16, 1865, stockholders elected the board of directors. The directors were:
Hickman, Rollins, Todd, J.L. Stephen, S.F. Conley, Harris, M.G. Singleton,
Waugh and Henry Keene. They elected Hickman president, Todd secretary and
George Pratt engineer. Construction started on May 21, 1866.

The Hickmans,
meanwhile, eagerly anticipated the arrival of a second child. On Oct. 14,
1866, Annie Hickman gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Mary D. A
few months later, in feeble health, Annie went to St. Joseph to visit her
parents, other relatives and friends. While at the home of her sister Sarah,
wife of Gen. George Hall, Annie died at age 28 on July 9, 1867. Her body
was returned to Columbia and buried at Columbia Cemetery. Her death was
not the final loss Hickman would suffer during that period.

The Boone
County and Jefferson City Railroad was completed Oct. 29, 1867, and was
leased to the North Missouri Railroad Co. In less than 15 months, on Jan.
12, 1869, the company stopped paying rent, and the Columbia-to-Centralia
line was eventually sold in foreclosure.

The town of
Hickman had been platted and a depot established a half-mile south of Hallsville.
J. Kelly, proprietor of the new town, began offering lots for sale on July
11, 1867. But because of organized resistance by Hallsville residents,
the town of Hickman persistently refused to grow. By 1875, there were four
other railroad stations between Columbia and Centralia.

Even before
the Civil War, Columbia was growing at a steady pace. But with the opening
of the railroad, the demand for construction of more business buildings
and residential homes increased. This in turn created the need for real
estate brokers, and Hickman and Price operated one of the most prominent
firms. Hickman also developed a 23-lot subdivision - bounded by Broadway,
Price Avenue and Walnut and Short streets - that bore his name.

With the building
boom came the requisite to protect the properties, and some Columbia businessmen
saw an opportunity to establish local insurance ventures. At a meeting
of the Boone County Mutual Insurance Co. in May 1864, Hickman was elected
to the board of directors.

Late in 1867,
with the railroad in operation between Columbia and Centralia, Hickman
turned his attention to another enterprise. Again, he called on his business
friends to join him in the organization of the Columbia Fire Insurance
Co. On Jan. 27, 1868, the following officers were elected: president, Hickman;
vice president, Machir; secretary, Irvine Hockaday; and general agent,
C.S. Stone. The board of directors consisted of: Hickman, James Stephens,
James Rollins, Machir, Price, Harris, Squire Turner Jr., James Matthews
and Prewitt. The initial stock of the company was worth $100,000, and its
charter provided for increases up to $500,000.

David Hickman’s
decision to resign from the University of Missouri Board of Curators rather
than take a loyalty oath came into play again in 1868, when Boone County
Democrats nominated him for a seat in the state Senate.

At the Democratic
Convention in Mexico, Mo., on Aug. 19, 1868, W.D. Hunter of Audrain County
opposed Hickman, who received 50 votes to Hunter’s 35. L.M. Conklin, his
Republican opponent, however, persuaded the Board of Registrars to disfranchise
Hickman because he had not taken the oath of allegiance six years earlier
during the Civil War. Hickman did not appeal. In response to the nomination
of James Rollins to replace him as the Democratic candidate, Hickman published
the following statement: "The foregoing action of the committee meets with
my most cordial and hearty approval."

In May 1869,
Hickman, as president of the recently organized Columbia, Rocheport and
Arrow Rock Railroad Co., traveled to Marshall seeking subscriptions to
complete construction of the railroad to connect to the Louisiana and Missouri
River Railroad at Marshall.

Not long after
his return home, Hickman became dangerously ill. He died on June 25, 1869,
at age 47. At the time, Hickman was president of the Boone County Savings
Bank; the Boone County and Jefferson City Railroad Co.; the Board of Curators
of Columbia Baptist Female College, which later became Stephens College;
the Columbia Fire Insurance Co.; the Columbia, Rocheport and Arrow Rock
Railroad Co.; the Board of Trustees of William Jewell College in Liberty;
and presiding officer of the Missouri Baptist Association. He also was
active in real estate brokerage and promotion and the development of businesses.

Hickman’s
funeral was held Sunday, June 27, 1869. The morning began with the arrival
of a train draped in mourning and filled with more than 100 friends to
pay tribute to his memory. Other mourners began to collect in front of
the Baptist church to await the arrival of the procession. At Hickman’s
residence, relatives and a number of friends assembled to accompany the
pallbearers to the church. The procession reached the church at 11 a.m.
and entered in the following order: The Rev. H.M. Richardson followed by
James Rollins and James Stephens, two lifelong friends of Hickman, succeeded
by the remains borne by Judge James Harris, Robert Smith, William Switzler,
John Machir, R.B. Price and Professor G.H. Matthews.

Every available
seat on the floor and gallery was occupied in the spacious Baptist church.
Many were forced to stand, and some were unable to gain admission.

Richardson
delivered the funeral discourse, which occupied 2½ columns in the
July 9, 1869, issue of the Missouri Statesman newspaper, which reported
that the funeral procession from the Baptist church to Columbia Cemetery
was the largest ever witnessed in Columbia. At the gravesite, Hickman was
placed next to his wife, Anne Hickman, who had died just two years before.

The obituary
concluded with the following: "There was never known in Columbia a more
solemn death, with greater sorrow and profound sympathy for the Christian
life, charitable nature, enterprising public spirit, that the deceased
has fastened upon the affections of his fellow-citizens, in a manner never
before truly realized."

Hickman requested
the custody and rearing of his daughter be entrusted to his sister, Sarah
Young, the recent widow of Archibald Young. The Boone County probate court
appointed Thaddeus Hickman, an uncle, as guardian and later as curator
of Mary Hickman. Some time later, Price became her curator and executor
of Hickman’s estate.

The directors
of the Boone County Savings Association commissioned Charles Stewart of
Jefferson City to paint a portrait of Hickman, their late president. The
Nov. 2, 1870, issue of the Jefferson City Peoples Tribune newspaper said,
"The completed portrait has been suspended in the building of the Savings
Bank. We deem this an eminently appropriate tribute to one of the most
worthy citizens Boone County had ever claimed. No man has probably done
more for her weal or left behind lasting marks of his wisdom, liberality
and enterprise. Such a token of appreciation is highly befitting from an
association of which he consecrated a large portion of his time and labor."

The 1870 U.S.
Census shows Mary Hickman, 3, living in the household of her aunt, Sallie
Young, and her four children. Mary Hickman grew up in Columbia and attended
Stephens College, where she became an accomplished pianist and performed
in several recitals and musical exercises. She graduated on June 7, 1883,
and enrolled at the University of Missouri.

On June 3,
1885, she married Capt. John Price, son of Col. James Price of Jefferson
City. The couple immediately left on a special train for Jefferson City,
their future home.

The Prices
had two sons. Hickman Price was born June 9, 1886, in Jefferson City, and
Andrew Price was born Feb. 18, 1890, in Denver.

Anticipating
her marriage and move to Jefferson City, Mary rented the Hickman residence
and its surrounding 40 acres first to J.B. Bell of Colorado City, Texas,
and later to the Hatton family, who was living there when the house burned
on Feb. 10, 1887. The land was then developed for use as a fairground,
with a horseracing track and temporary facilities. It was also used for
carnivals, and some high school games were played there.

On March 19,
1925, the Columbia school board reported it had obtained an option on the
40-acre estate. The price for the property was $27,500, which was said
to be well below the real value of such a piece of land because the title
to the property was not clear. The district used its power of condemnation
to obtain a clear title.

On Dec. 15,
1925, residents approved 7-1 a bond issue of $415,000 for construction
of a school building on the site and some other school improvements. On
Dec. 17, 1925, the school board approved a resolution by Sanford Conley
suggesting the school be named "David H. Hickman High School." The cornerstone
for Hickman High School was placed in a brief ceremony Sept. 16, 1926,
and the building was opened for classes a year later.

When the new
high school’s name became known, two respected residents approved of its
namesake and described Hickman in their letters of endorsement.

From Edwin
Stephens, president of Stephens Publishing Co.: "David H. Hickman was one
of the greatest citizens and finest characters Boone County has ever had.
He was a model citizen, a true Christian, a patriot, a leader in educational
and civic affairs. The board of education appropriately honors his memory
in naming in his honor the building, which is to stand upon the site of
the home he owned and where he passed away with honors. And to the regret
of the community which he so unselfishly and so ably served and when he
had scarcely reached the prime of life."

From Judge
David Harris of Boone County Circuit Court: "He was a gentleman in manner,
a Christian in spirit and a natural leader by the soundness of his judgment,
the force of his character and the disinterestedness of his motives. ...
Measured by the years, his life was a short one. Yet, I can think of no
former citizen of Columbia whose life was richer, fuller or more worthy
of emulation by the youth of Columbia, who in the years to come may receive
instruction in the schools of your city."